Get a GED in 7 Days, or No Job for You!

by Scott Woodruff • September 11, 2018

After earning a high school diploma from a small private school recognized as equivalent to a public school by the Maine Commissioner of Education, a homeschool graduate applied to work at DaVita Dialysis.

DaVita engaged a company called HireRight to check her education credentials. HireRight rebuffed her, saying that she did not graduate from an accredited high school, and gave her seven days to get a GED or face a final rejection.

When she asked Home School Legal Defense Association for help, I wrote a letter to DaVita pointing out that its own written policies did not require a diploma from an accredited high school. I also explained that Maine officially acknowledges that small private schools can be recognized as a lawful alternative to attending public school. I pointed out that the graduate’s school was precisely one of those recognized schools.

But the DaVita representative told the graduate it was out of his hands, and she would need to initiate a formal dispute process with HireRight. At my recommendation, she started the dispute process and forwarded to HireRight a copy of the letter I had earlier sent to DaVita.

After two weeks and many phone calls from the graduate, HireRight acknowledged that her credentials were solid, and she was allowed to move ahead with the hiring process.